Butterfly Business Takes Off

By Shawn M. Kelly
Staff Writer

This article appeared in the November 22, 1995 edition of The News-Item, Shamokin, PA

Rick Mikula has a job that most would consider strange. He raises butterflies for a living. Don't laugh. Believe it or not, there is money in monarchs. A lot of money.

Mikula, a resident of Hazleton, was a machinist until he decided to try something a little different. Okay, a lot different. He began raising butterflies for special occasions, such as weddings, divorces, and even funerals. He opened the Hole-in-Hand Butterfly Farm to meet the needs of a business that was, uh, taking off. He hand-raises about 4,000 butterflies a year. The species include monarchs and swallowtails, and several others, but the monarchs and swallowtails are the most popular.

So how is a butterfly used in, say, a wedding? Well, each guest gets an envelope with a butterfly inside. When the bride and groom leave the church, everyone pulls the envelope apart, releasing the butterfly. According to Mikula, the butterflies fly overhead and group together over the aisle. They circle for a short time (anywhere from a few seconds to two minutes) while they get their bearings, creating a fluttering canopy.

Then they fly away.

A few weeks ago, Mikula had a wedding in New York that called for 500 butterflies. No problem. Especially at about $7.50 per butterfly.

Mikula isn't in it for the money, though. He loves helping the environment, and spreading the faith about the wonderful butterfly. Mikula also designed the Butterfly Emporium, a butterfly zoo, at the Dollywood amusement park in Tennessee by blending butterflies and flowers in the right combination for visitors.

The New Jersey Department of Corrections also calls on Mikula to help out juvenile offenders. Through Rutgers University's "Careers in a Green Industry" program, Mikula teaches the art of raising butterflies to convicted felons under the age of 18 to help them respect life.

Mikula is self-taught, but he says he knows more than the 'experts' when it comes to raising a butterfly. For instance, he has successfully raised healthy butterflies in the dark, something biologists at large research facilities said could not be done.

Of course, along the way there were mishaps. Mikula relates the tale of when a thunderstorm rolled through Hazleton when he was out of town, and the pressure change caused the butterflies to come out of their chrysalises (shells in which they change from caterpillar to butterfly) early. When he walked in, he says, thousands of butterflies were in every room in his house. He just turned out the lights and went to bed; when he woke up, the butterflies had gathered on the windows to warm themselves in the sun.

Butterflies are year-round creatures to Mikula. At Christmas, he takes chrysalises and places them on the tree. He has the metamorphosis timed so that on Christmas morning, the butterflies open their wings to dry them, blanketing the tree with natural decorations of orange and white.

Mikula has several different programs about butterflies. He discusses how to create butterfly habitats, raise butterflies, and plant flowers to attract butterflies.

How good is the butterfly business? Mikula has weddings booked through 1996. His estimated revenue for 1995 is in the six-figure, range. And, he says it's only getting better.

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